In part one of this series, I teased out the why and how of getting students to be brought into the process of learning and course development. This follow up will share the ‘what’ — the tests we track, the… Read more ›
Being able to make decisions is a form of ownership, and having ownership leans on being accountable for your decisions. If we want people to be responsible for the health of the bodies they inhabit, to care based on… Read more ›
That which is neglected has the utmost potential. For me, Physical Education (or PE) is that place and space, and a fairly reflective representation of myself. Take the time and interest to look closer, past the beige tinge and the… Read more ›
The PE class I created was carefully called Games & Practice. The goal is to develop skills and then utilize those skills in a larger, faster context. Sometimes this means adding people, sometimes this means creating a more complex task,… Read more ›
Part One of this series looked at working with youth. My Dad is going to turn 78 this year. He is someone that I love and that I know loves me. Sometimes a close relationship can get in the… Read more ›
Whether you know what to do or don’t know what to do, these behaviors have been learned (and taught). The environment one finds themselves in caters to these patterns, and is socially accepted (and encouraged). Our habits define who we… Read more ›
I define performance for the purpose of this article as, “the peak execution of a skill at a particular point in time.” Though sometimes cooperative, there is most often an element of competition involved. For most athletes and artists, the… Read more ›
Habits and attitudes. At its core, this is what teaching comes down to. Do you know how to break them? Do you know how to build them? How do you feel about the things you do every day? Are they… Read more ›
This is a question that requires more probing questions. Must there be a unifying variable of sameness? If so, what is it? The age of the people? The thematic subject? What actions are expected? How about the time of day? … Read more ›
From the perspective of someone looking for you, you will be found more readily if you are specialized. A handy man might be able to fix your furnace, but a furnace guy definitely could (should?). And yet, if I needed… Read more ›
Three years in the making, I became clear on the name for my class and what I hoped it could offer students. Up until this time, I got the same kind of kid – ones who prioritized learning and understanding… Read more ›
Pullups. The bane of every chubby kid’s existence. We were strong, just not relatively strong. We liked to stick what we were good at, which was moving things other than ourselves. Eventually my weight leveled out and I was drawn… Read more ›
It’s wretched. Absolutely awful. Carrying a heavy pack for miles and miles and never being quite sure when the end will come. I never notice my environment. I am fixated on the trail, the next step, and the necessity to… Read more ›
If I learned one thing growing up in the Chicago suburbs, it’s that lazy people are really, really frowned upon. Being worth something meant you did something. You contributed; to the house, the team, the school, the community. Willingly making… Read more ›
Being interested lets a concept captivate you. It makes learning effortless. The desire to know is sought out. It involves the curious in an unconditioned quest for more. Something. Anything other than what currently is. Doing becomes a compelling deed,… Read more ›
The ego has many layers and interpretations. It can signify a sense of self, the definition of “I”, and/or the determination of esteem or importance. A psychoanalytical description fans this into, “the part of the mind that mediates between the conscious… Read more ›
Being a public educator means you will never be without students. The caveat is that many won’t want to be there. Shaped by a past experience of dodgeballs to the face and timed miles and pacer tests, Physical Education was… Read more ›
Engaging with your work demands a certain degree of ownership. There must be a benefit to the challenge presented, beyond just a hard-to-apply confidence. A task can serve as a test of will, a test of adaptability, and/or a test… Read more ›
Before we are funneled into a certain way of being, we believe we can do anything. We want to try everything because we have no idea what we can’t do. We are confident without realizing or understanding what confident is.… Read more ›
You are willing to explore when you feel safe and confident. Safety comes from recognizing your limits and being able to measure and manipulate risk. Confidence comes from knowing what you’re doing and trusting in your ability to adapt. Experience… Read more ›
The magic of the internet is that it can connect strangers through a virtual world. Search boxes help find commonality and mutual interests. What is even more encouraging is that people are interacting. There is far less fear in speaking… Read more ›
As practioners and coaches, teachers and students, we are constantly seeking out information to make us better at what we are trying to do. We stalk and search. If only we could see and know, then we could do. Despite… Read more ›
“Translation allows for otherwise separate entities to synapse and communicate.” I have been a teacher for thirteen years and a movement therapist for five. As I toggle through the two professions, an unlikely blend has taken place. I find… Read more ›
feature photo credit: telegraph.co.uk Work has always made me feel accomplished. I did stuff simply for the sake of getting it done. Checking off a box or crossing off a project was immensely satisfying. Afterwards, I waited anxiously, bouncing my… Read more ›
Movement is communication. It is the giving and receiving of signals, of input and outputs. When you watch someone move, whether it be dancing or jogging or getting out of a chair, the manner in which they carry themselves and… Read more ›
featured photo credit: theindianschool.in I’ve had the good fortune to work at an arts school the last eight years. The students, many disenfranchised with Physical Education in the past, were open and willing to trying different things. I’m not… Read more ›
As a young athlete, I did whatever my coach told me without asking questions. I rewound video tape of Michael Jordan again and again to get the footwork right. As I aged, I accepted and attempted to perform summer programs… Read more ›
My father takes pride in being a worker. He grew up poor in Italy and emigrated to the U.S. when he was 16. He had $20 in his pocket and no grasp of the English language. Somehow, though, like so… Read more ›
feature photo credit, Moshe Feldenkrais and Magic Johnson: feldenkraismethod.com People want to be self-sufficient. There is an immense satisfaction in being able to pinpoint what is wrong and develop a strategy in how to fix it. The process of correction… Read more ›
For a very long time, my ability to do work was my defining feature. I needed to get stuff done to prove myself capable and worthwhile. When I was younger my Mom made us chores lists. She wrote them on… Read more ›
Losing weight won’t make you a hero. It’ll trap you in a way. To keep it off or keep up the facade that because you’re thin everything’s great. If you’re assuming that reaching that body weight goal is going to… Read more ›
Depending on how it’s asked, this question can either be flattering or insulting. Take away the spin or slighting, and you’re left with a very objective measure; a lone thought that can determine whether what you’re doing is what you… Read more ›
To get yourself out of a rut you have to want something. You have to want that something enough to elicit a change. This is no easy task. Truth be told, people get comfortable staying where they are, even if… Read more ›
People who train regularly like to measure things. A LOT of things. They have a plan and they have to make sure the plan is working. They need proof they’re getting better. The objective is to set as many personal… Read more ›